RAID Array Fails

When a RAID array fails it’s not because they are designed to fail, something goes wrong, be it accident or disaster.

But for a large scale RAID 5 array to fail is unusual but it does happen. Often storage infrastructure managers are not aware how data corruption can creep into a RAID at the block level.

In the lab we see the effects on a daily basis from a 3 Disk drive configuration right up to 22 or even 55 disk members arriving at the Security House lab and onsite upto a 180 disk arrays.

Non are designed to fail but they do. In some situations what starts as one bad drive can lead to a complex mess and missing data even within VMs and databases.

Multiple failed / swapped drives later and more keep failing each time new ones are added to resync. Despite the resilience of the RAID, data to corruption can creep in despite monitoring software giving no indication of drive errors.

If it’s a pointer to your situation and how as a data recovery lab we see the consequences of picking the wrong model / class of drives - over 70% of our work in DR is thanks to non enterprise class Seagate hard drives .

Some DR labs are also Seagate partners because they do not have the capabilities we have and they still cannot recover in lab what R3 engineers can.

R3 don’t use Seagates in their servers or imaging process except for 8TB at the moment but that’s not to say Seagates are bad drives, it a combination of factors, market share, brand loyalty, low cost, extended warranty, but they do develop problems.

R3 currently have over 500 1TB to 6TB drives in use in the lab most are WD - Western Digital - A colourful mixture of Red, Green, White, Gold, Blue and Purple.

R3 do get bad sectors developing on them spotted during the imaging process or during the secure wiping process. Failing drives are pensioned off but they are worked hard and power cycled regularly as well a sure wiped after every recovery is completed. What you should not do is assume new storage technology or VM or SSD or cloud backup is the solution it’s not.

If you need help checking the integrity of your data or run into problems with any loss of data get in touch with R3s disaster and data recovery specialists. R3 Data Recovery Ltd has a staff of 25 with 8 Full time engineers and their assistants recovering data 7 days per week for clients across the UK and internationally

I have recently used R3D to retrieve data from an external hard drive.

I called Andy at 11pm on a Saturday after my hard drive failed, he immediately ran through the symptoms and calmed my fears that all data was lost, but was honest that data recoveries are not always successful.

I required the data immediately as it was for a deadline the following Friday, the issue was I was based in London and the lab based in Sheffield.

After searching all data companies in and around London none would answer my call on a Saturday. In fact no one else would answer my call or say they could look at my case on the Sunday.

I took the drive myself to R3D and was very impressed with their facilities. Andy also explained the whole process and what they were doing at each stage.

Unfortunately the hard drive had a physical failure and needed to be rebuilt to have any chance of recovering the information.

After starting the rebuild at 4pm on the Sunday, Andy advised it would take him and his team until the morning to know if any information was recoverable - fantastic I thought. Andy and Mark got to work on my drive as soon as I left and by 10pm on Sunday they had retrieved almost the entirety of the information of my hard drive.

I cannot reccomend R3D highly enough, they are clearly experts in their field and have a passion for what they do. Through the whole process Andy kept me informed of progress and explained everything they were doing.

If you have a crisis or any data recovery needs these are the guys you need!

What Does A REAL Data Recovery Lab Look Like?

Need Quick Help?

Fill out our no-obligation diagnostics form below to get a FREE consultation or callback.

Our data recovery engineers can diagnose the majority of faults remotely for free.

Your Name*

FirstLast

Your Email*

Company

Phone*

Postcode / Location*

Technical Details

You don't need to select the following; however, please provide a brief description of the problem in the "Other information" field.

Device or Media Type

Device Manufacturer

Storage Capacity

Description of Problem

File System Installed

Operating System

Service Level*

Other information that may help us..

Email

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Corrupted Data? Speak to our expert team on 0800 999 3282 or click here for help!

About our Company

R3 Data Recovery Services are designed to meet the needs of businesses and home users requiring a fixed cost, highly successful data recovery solution.

​Your Data In Good Hands

​If your hard drive happens to fail, contact our team of experts. Our skilled professionals will be able to reliably recover data on your hard drive and provide industry-leading turnaround times which give you the confidence that's necessary to develop a solid, effective recovery plan.